Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Advanced Courses (Undergrad), Summer and Fall 2012

English Majors — Before you register, please make an appointment to meet with Wayne Berninger to review your outstanding requirements. Then register as early as possible to keep courses from being canceled.

Non-Majors — The writing and analytical skills gained in English courses are useful in a variety of professions. Any student may take these courses as general electives. A minor in English (four courses 100 or above) will satisfy the Distribution Requirement for any major. For more information, see Wayne Berninger.

Effective Fall 2012, ENG 101 (Introduction to English Studies) will no longer be required for English majors. However, the undergraduate English major remains a thirty-credit program, which means that English majors still need the three credits of advanced English that used to be satisfied by ENG 101. For those of you who have already taken ENG 101, there will be no changes.

If you have NOT yet completed ENG 101, the new English-major requirements are as follows:

· Three Literature electives from ENG 119, 128, 129, 137, 140, 150, 158, 159, 169, 170, 180, 184, 187 & 200+. (One of these three must be either 129 or 159. Please be aware that 140, 150, 170 & 180 may each be taken twice.)

· ENG 191.

Writing and Rhetoric Concentration

· ENG 171 & 172.

· Three Writing & Rhetoric electives from ENG 126, 163, 168, 173, 174 & 175. (Please be aware that all of these except 126 may be taken twice.)

This course will satisfy the Literature requirement in either the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can satisfy a general English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor. Any student may take ENG 140, 150, 170 or 180 a second time for credit.

This course looks at fictional and nonfictional narrative accounts by African American writers from the Slave Narrative to Barack Obama’s recent autobiography. We will examine a sampling of narratives from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries written by former slaves, then move on to the Harlem Renaissance, and our final unit highlights contemporary texts that include narratives by John Edgar Wideman, Ntozake Shange, Adrienne Kennedy, and Barack Obama. We will foreground such questions as why do African Americans write autobiography and/or fictional accounts that use first person narration, what are the gender differences, and what are the politics of writing for an audience that may be unfamiliar with the cultural currency in the text.

Over the course, you will enhance your critical reading skills, perfect your research and writing, gain a sense of different styles and approaches to literary criticism, and become informed about the major cultural and social debates that have arisen in the last thirty years. I hope as well that you will discover writing styles that help you to think critically about your creative writing as you may discover what works for your memoir production by comparing it to the broad variety of vehicles that we will explore. Assignments include position papers, leading class discussion, and a final essay.

Readings, usually a section of the text, will come from the following sources:

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano

This course will satisfy a Writing & Rhetoric elective requirement in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can satisfy a general English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy the Writing & Rhetoric requirement in either the Literature concentration or the Creative Writing concentration.It can also be applied toward the English minor. Please note that this course is cross-listed with JOU 119. Students who wish this course to count toward the English major (or minor) should be sure to register for ENG 126 — not JOU 119. Contact the Journalism Department for information about the content of this course.

English 128 Early British Literatures (Class ID# 5459)
The Making of English Literary Tradition

Professor Srividhya Swaminathan

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4:30 – 5:45 PM

This course is required in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy a Literature requirement in either the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor.

What does it mean to be English and how does language contribute to the construction of identity? Why do we study early English literature and what kinds of things are we to learn from the texts? How did English literary traditions evolve over time to create a cohesive identity and culture for its people? This course will begin a chronological survey of the development of English literary traditions beginning in the ninth century with Beowulf. Students will gain an understanding of the evolution of the English language from its earliest forms to the more modern version of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We will read literature by Chaucer and contemporaries of Shakespeare. The course will introduce students to the differences in genre by understanding changes in narrative based on form. For example, we will examine how the move from long narrative poetry of the Medieval period gave way to the more popular drama and lyric poetry of the Renaissance and ultimately to the novel in the Eighteenth Century. Not only did the English language develop in form but also in prestige as authors soon began choosing to write in English as a literary language (as opposed to French). By examining the geographic and cultural boundaries as they change over the centuries, students will gain a better grasp of the fluidity of “English” or “British” identity.

English 158 Early Literatures of the United States (Class ID# 4155)

Founding Documents

Professor Carol Allen

Tuesdays, 6:00 – 8:30 PM

This course is required in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy a Literature requirement in either the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor.

This course explores early American writing before the Civil War. We will examine what makes Americans American through the lens of early writings of the United States, texts that establish the mores, desires, norms, and perspective of a nascent nation. That is: a focus on works that attempt to collect and make coherent the raw and disparate pieces that will go into forming the US (which is still very much under construction). As a counterpoint to our concentration on collection and coherence, we will read one piece that focuses on dispersion: an alternative way to think about this period, Equiano’s slave narrative/travel document of the Atlantic. By the end of the semester, you will have thought about how nation-building is as much a product of dream and myth as it is actual tangible work. Expect to read selections/texts from Equiano, John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Jefferson, Harriet Wilson, Charles Brockden Brown, James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Abraham Lincoln. Assignments include informal writing, in-class essays, presentation, and final paper.

This course is required in the Creative Writing concentration. It can satisfy a general English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy the Creative Writing requirement in either the Literature concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor. Any student may take this course a second time for credit.

Do you ever write poems, lyrics, or stories? Are you interested in haiku poetry, hip-hop, or spoken word? Do you miss the imaginative stories you created as a child? Do you secretly write in a journal or diary? Have you always wanted to write a poem but were afraid? This course is for anyone who has ever wanted to express him- or herself creatively or who wants to develop his or her imaginative voice.

In the course we’ll play with writing techniques of the East from Japan to China and study their influence & possibilities for our own writing in BK, NYC. So what is the relationship between traditions, between haiku and hip-hop, for instance—between innovation and being one’s true self, and a writer’s unique story or poetic, history, background, and culture? If our own voices grow out of the past and from traditions firmly rooted in the power of language, in this class our goal will be to open ourselves to diverse aesthetics ranging from the meditative spirit of Zen and wabi-sabi to the contemporary tempo of artistic sounds and music emerging from the streets of the city. How is perfection only mastered in the imperfection of form? How does the chaos of a story find structure in the harmony of imbalance?

If haibun is often described as narratives of epiphany, wabi-sabi concentrates on daily life. As with hip-hop and rap and the street stories of New York, both forms have manifested more as expressions of urban life and travel dialogues in American usage. We’ll play with these condensed forms of syntax and sensory impressions, experiment with writing in the present tense, and focus our language on tone and setting in our weekly workshops.

The course will include workshops, film, music, artwork, and informal talks and will conclude with a chapbook and manifesto of your own work for the semester.

English 165 Poetry Workshop (Class ID# 4201)
How to Get There

Professor Lewis Warsh

Thursdays, 6:00 – 8:30 PM

This course will satisfy a Creative Writing elective requirement in the Creative Writing concentration. It can satisfy a general English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy the Creative Writing requirement in either the Literature concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor. English majors concentrating in Creative Writing may take this course a second time for credit.

Our ideas about poetry are often instilled in us at a very young age—and often those ideas are based on a narrow concept, as if poetry were just one thing written in one way. Our goal in this course is to expand the definition of poetry—to see what’s possible, both as writers and readers. We’ll do this by exploring the traditions of poetry and the various forms of poetry (among them the sonnet, the sestina, the villanelle) and by paying close attention to the way that poetry changes through time and how much great poetry is a reflection of the age in which it was written. We’ll also discuss the act of writing poetry as one of risk-taking and investigation, and how nothing ever changes unless you experiment or try something new. Is all great writing, for instance, experimental writing? In what way is writing poetry similar to scientific discovery or invention? We’ll discuss, at length, what “experiment” means in relation to poetry. Most important, we’ll try to trace the relationship between poetry and daily life.

This course is required in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy a Literature requirement in either the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor.

The African diaspora was not a simple matter of Africans being transported to the New World as slaves. “The Black Atlantic” is Paul Gilroy’s phrase for the dense networks built up over the centuries as black people crisscrossed the ocean in all directions, maintaining connections between Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas. This matrix gave birth to various conceptions of pan-Africanism. We will consider the facts of the matter, the histories of slavery, black sailors, cosmopolitan intellectuals, and labor migrants. We will follow African gods and spirits—Mami Wata, Yemoja, Ogun, Elegba, the Sankofa bird—to the New World. Film, the visual arts, and music will come into the story, but we will be principally concerned with how writers have represented and interpreted this rich if often painful history. An independent research project will allow students to explore their own particular interests.

English 171 Introduction to Classical Rhetoric (Class ID# 5920)

Professor John Killoran

Mondays & Wednesdays 4:30 - 5:45 pm

This course is required in the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can satisfy a general English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can satisfy the Writing & Rhetoric requirement in either the Literature concentration or the Creative Writing concentration.It can also be applied toward the English minor.

Students have been studying classical rhetoric for more than 2400 years, starting with the ancient Greeks, so why study it in 2012? Classical rhetoric offers us guidelines for how to be persuasive. In ancient times, rhetoric played a key role in the birth of our traditions of democratic politics and law. In modern times, classical rhetoric has been revived to guide us in analyzing the persuasive messages around us and to make our own writing more persuasive.

In this course, students will learn concepts from classical rhetoric and apply them to analyze contemporary writing, speaking, and multimedia communication in . . .

§ politics and law;

§ advertising, marketing, and public relations;

§ traditional media and new digital media;

§ our personal lives and communities.

By the end of the course, students will better recognize how language persuades us of what we believe and whom we believe. Students will also have developed their sensitivity to the power in others’ use of language and will become more empowered in their own use of language.

This course is designed not only for English majors but also for students from disciplines such as Political Science, Education, Business, Journalism, and Media Arts who seek to develop their skills as critical readers and persuasive writers. For more information, contact professor John Killoran at John.Killoran@liu.edu

This course will satisfy the Literature requirement in either the Creative Writing concentration or the Writing & Rhetoric concentration. It can satisfy a general English elective requirement in the Literature concentration. It can also be applied toward the English minor. Any student may take ENG 140, 150, 170 or 180 a second time for credit.

The history of literature is filled with myths and legends that recur persistently. In this course, we will examine the enduring tales of fiction that writers have revisited repeatedly. The number of texts we could consider is infinite, so we’ll focus on the intersections of specific themes, namely Marriage, Murder, and Madness. We will read for the appreciation of the aesthetic completeness of each individual work while also investigating the endurance, appeal, and variety of manifestations of each tale. We will examine how writers conceptualize narrative differently while attending to and responding to the concerns of their predecessors. Why do themes intersect in certain works and remain distinct in others? What does this tell us about the societies in which these authors created? We will analyze the creative process and the notion of inspiration and investigate the conceptualization of new fiction that responds to old. We will discuss how these new fictions operate as both homage and critique. We will watch film versions of two texts in lieu of reading to discuss how medium affects interpretation and retelling. Our reading list will include works from Europe, the Caribbean, and the US. We will juxtapose Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Updike’s Gertrude and Claudius, Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary. On the final day, time permitting, we will examine selections from Joyce’s Ulysses and Walcott’s Omeros.

Requirements: A mid-term exam, a final exam, a 5-page creative re-imagination of a recurring literary tale, and a final 5-7 page research paper on an approved topic related to the course. (The creative paper is optional—you can write a traditional response paper instead).

When taught by English Department faculty, Honors courses numbered 100 and above) may be applied toward the English major in a variety of ways. Please see Wayne Berninger in the English Department before you register in order to confirm which requirement the course may satisfy. These courses may also be applied toward the English minor.

STUDY ABROAD AND EARN CREDIT THAT CAN BE APPLIED TOWARD YOUR ENGLISH MAJOR

LIU Global invites English majors to study abroad for a semester or a year at one of our centers—Costa Rica, Japan, China, or India. Not only will you have the opportunity to study and travel in a foreign country while earning credit towards your major, but you will also become immersed in another culture, develop your global awareness and cross-cultural communication skills, and be provided with a variety of internship and service learning opportunities. At all centers, students are encouraged to engage in independent-study projects relevant to their academic interests.

The Costa Rica Program in Heredia offers home stays with Costa Rican families, internships throughout the region, and courses in writing, Latin American studies, cross-cultural research methods, Latin American literature, Spanish language, global health and traditional healing, peace and reconciliation studies, environmental studies, and an introduction to experiential education.

The India Program in Bangalore enables students to explore the country’s religious and cultural diversity, the caste system, travel writing, environmental issues, the situation of Tibetan refugees, and the status of women. Students also have the opportunity to study India’s art forms, dance, and music.

The China Program in Hangzhou allows students to study a wide range of topics including the history of China, religious life in China, traditional Chinese medicine, poetry, women’s issues, calligraphy, taiji, Mandarin Chinese language and modernization and economic development.

The Comparative Religion and Culture Program enables students to engage in intensive study of the teachings, rituals, and spiritual practices of the world’s major religions while exploring cross-cultural issues such as identity, human rights, peace and reconciliation, and world citizenship. During the fall semester, students travel in Taiwan and Thailand, and during the spring semester, students travel throughout India and Turkey while they immerse themselves in the religions and cultures of these countries. The courses offered in the fall include: Comparison: Theory and Method, Religions and Modernity in Taiwan, Culture and Society of Taiwan, and Religions and Modernity in Thailand. The following courses are offered in the spring: Comparison: Practice and Critique, Religions and Modernity in India, History and Society in India, and Religions and Modernity in Turkey.

The Australia Program in Byron Bayis offered only during the spring semester. Students explore the relationships between people and their environment from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students travel throughout Australia and take courses that focus on indigenous peoples, the natural history, ecological diversity and related social and cultural contexts of Australia through seminars, field trips, service learning and internships.

Long Island University Financial Aid can be applied to all LIU Global overseas programs. For more information call 718 488 3409 or e-mail globalcollege@liu.edu.

A number of $5000 scholarships may be available to study in LIU Global programs.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT GUIDELINES
FOR ENGLISH MAJORS STUDYING ABROAD
IN THE LIU GLOBAL PROGRAM

The following are guidelines for undergraduate English majors who wish to study abroad through LIU Global and apply the credits earned toward their upper-division English major requirements.

ü Student must receive permission from Undergraduate Advisor (Wayne Berninger) and Chair of English to enroll in LIU Global. See Wayne Berninger before you do anything else.

ü Before going abroad, student must have completed ENG 16, COS 50, and six credits from ENG 61-62-63-64.

ü A maximum of 12 LIU Global credits may be applied toward upper-division English major requirements.

ü During any semester abroad, student must take 6 credits (or equivalent) in English. Independent study may be arranged, in consultation with Undergraduate Advisor and Chair of English.

Notes

ü Tuition, fees, and room & board abroad is about the same as tuition, fees, and room & board at the Brooklyn Campus.

ü University financial aid and scholarships are transferable to LIU Global. However, students should be aware that there are no work-study opportunities abroad. Also, athletes who receive free room and board at the Brooklyn Campus are not automatically eligible for same while abroad. Department of Athletics may agree to provide athletes with a stipend to cover LIU Global room & board fees. Students are urged to discuss this possibility with the Department of Athletics before they decide to study abroad.

ü LIU Global has additional sources of scholarships for students studying abroad.